The Game Of Love
by FuckMePumps
Summary: It all started with a misplaced issue of Icha Icha Paradise, a spilled drink, an annoying relay of pointless events, and an innocent game of 20 questions... Oneshot NejiTen. Pls. R&R.


**Author's Note:** My third (?) Naruto fic! Yay! I haven't lost count yet!

**Disclaimer:** Don't own… and I'm getting REALLY sick of doing this pointless thing.

-

_**There you see her**_

_**Sitting across the way  
She don't got a lot to say  
But there's something about her**_

_**And you don't know why**_

_**But you're dying to try**_

_**You want to kiss the girl**_

**_Yes, you want her  
Look at her you know you do  
Possible that she wants you, too  
There's one way to ask her  
It don't take a word_**

_**Not a single word  
Go on and kiss the girl**_

_**-Kiss the Girl, The Little Mermaid OST**_

_**-**_

Neji was grateful for the quiet place in the restaurant he was sitting in.

Okay, so not exactly quiet, as the other genins and Shikamaru were seated at the other end, which can still get pretty noisy, but at least he had a nice, secluded spot he could call his own.

He knew whoever suggested this 'reunion' was a total moron, but it was a fine break from all the missions they were frequently being sent to.

A particularly loud roar from the genins made Neji smirk, wondering how the other 'cool and stoic' boys were reacting to Naruto and Lee's racket, specifically Sasuke and Shino, or maybe even Shikamaru, who found all things troublesome.

He opened the page of his book. It was some sort of pocketbook that he found lying around the Hyuuga mansion whose title he didn't even bother reading. Was he getting as lazy as Shikamaru? Anyway, deciding that he had nothing else better to do, he gave it a shot.

He sipped from his drink and enjoyed a good few minutes of silence before he heard the sound of the genins laugh again. What could they be talking about that absolutely required them to make so much noise?

He shook his head, knowing he wouldn't really want to find out.

It took him a few more moments to realize he was actually reading an old issue of Icha Icha Paradise. How the hell did the Hyuugas get their hands on one of these… things?

He let go of it in disgust. Neji was not the kind of guy who spends his time reading romance (is that all it is?) novels and swooning over girls. It's not obvious, isn't it?

Neji glared at the discarded book, breathing deeply as he looked at the cover. His face contorted in repulsion. Okay, reasonable explanations please…

Kakashi-sensei must have gone over at the manor and left it there. Yes, let's stick with that.

Okay, moving on…

"Neji!"

A voice rang oh so audibly in his ears, startling him enough to spill his drink. He was shocked at his actions, white eyes widening at how he could have sunk so low as to spill his drink.

"Gosh, you're getting clumsy, Neji. Waiter, please wipe this up!" The voice continued. One of Neji's big eyes began to twitch in annoyance. The owner of the voice sat down in front of him, exposing herself as the brown-haired kunoichi with two buns stuck on either side of her head who happened to be his team mate.

"Tenten." He ground his back teeth.

She smiled at him. "So, what are you doing here all alone? We're having fun at the long table. Come on, everyone's there, even our four jounin sensei."

Neji winced. "Precisely why I don't want to go 'over there.'"

She frowned. "Aw, come on. Loosen up once in awhile. I came here to fetch you."

"Too bad, 'cause you'll be going back there empty-handed."

"We're playing lots of fun games there, Neji."

He took her down for a staring contest. "I don't know the meaning of fun, Tenten."

She wasn't moved. "We played Spin the Bottle before the teachers arrived. I had to kiss Kiba, Shino and Sasuke. Shino and Sasuke were okay, but with Kiba, woah… He was surprisingly good." She smirked, knowing this was making him uncomfortable. It was.

"And I need to hear this because…?"

"I dunno, I just thought it would have been more fun if you were there to kiss." She retorted teasingly.

He had to fight a jaw-drop that time. Was she serious?

She didn't seem to wait for an answer now, however, as she kept on talking like he wasn't there.

"Then we played Truth or Dare. Naruto kept on choosing the dares. He made Shikamaru sing 'Oops, I did it again' and Hinata walk up to a guy and say 'Will you marry me?' It was hilarious. You should have been there."

"I'm glad I wasn't."

"Anyway, I always answered Truth, for obvious reasons. They asked me who I wanted my first kiss, my real one, to be. You know who I answered?"

"No. Who?" Neji couldn't help ask.

She looked at him straight in the eye. "You." She said without any traces of humor in her face.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really?"

"Yep."

A brief silence, brief but comfortable as far as they were concerned anyway, fell upon them, before Tenten broke it.

"Anyway, they're playing 20 questions right now, and since you're the reason I'm not joining them, I'm gonna play 20 questions with you."

She said it so definitely and determinedly and with such authority Neji had no other choice but to answer, "Fine."

She smirked again, putting both arms on top of the table and resting her chin against her knuckles.

"What's your deepest, darkest secret?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be my deepest darkest secret anymore. Next."

"Fine." She paused for a while as she thought. "Define love, for you."

He answered the question almost instantaneously. "Love is a psychological disease that overcomes the weak-minded to fall for pointless feelings and give in to raw animalistic desires and full outbursts of passion. In other cases, however, love is a strong urge to care, to nurture, and to protect, but it's strength still cannot fight against the powerful forces of destiny and death. Love is the root of all emotions. Love is both nothing and everything that matters."

She had to be impressed at that. "That's very insightful, Neji. Logical, but not true. At least not for everyone."

"Explain."

"Is that a question?"

He scowled for an instant, realizing that it wasn't his turn yet. How'd he manage keep on falling for her tricks anyway? What was wrong with him today?

"Fine. Next question."

"Have you ever been in love?"

"No."

"Really?"

"Should I consider that your fourth question?"

"No. Okay, so, why haven't you ever been in love?"

No matter how stupid the question was, Neji, being Neji, didn't fail to answer it.

"Firstly, one cannot fall in love at the age of fourteen. Secondly, because I have not yet found someone to fall in love with. And third, because I choose not to."

She looked aghast. "You… choose not to? How can you choose not to? Do you have control over your feelings?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"Okay, your sixth question. I believe you only have five more questions left."

"Hey…" Tenten seemed to protest, then calculated the questions she asked him so far in her head. "Oh. Yeah."

"Yes. And now for the sixth…?"

"Oh. Right. Hmm…

"Describe your perfect love."

Now this made him think. "Let's see. She would be a strong, willful woman who is capable of taking care of herself, who does not need to rely on anyone else for her needs. She would be independent, loyal and helpful, and she would have a purpose or a goal in life that she wishes to achieve. She would not complain about anything and she would cope up with me and bear with me even through my worst days. She would understand that while I could not give her everything, I am trying, and she will not force me to give up my work and my ambitions solely to pamper her with love and affection."

Tenten had a dreamy look on her face, seemingly engrossed. "Is she pretty?"

Neji smiled internally, knowing she was unconsciously wasting her questions. "Hmm, she would not be too noticeable in her beauty, but her features would be subtle and delicate, with a certain edge to it. Long dark hair that I can stroke is a necessity, and dark eyes that I could look into and drown in would complete her."

It took Tenten a minute to reply as she absorbed this 'Neji Revelation.' It would later occur to her that she should have written it down for future exploitation.

"Wow. That's really… deep, Neji."

"Yes, I suppose so. I'm still waiting for your eight question."

Her eyes lost their glassy look like she had just recently remembered what she was doing.

"Oh. Question. Yeah. Err… have you ever kissed anyone?"

"No, I don't believe I have."

She looked relieved for some reason. A slight wickedness with a hint of mischievousness darkened her face.

"Question number nine. Who do you want your first kiss to be?"

He seemed prepared for this question. "Hmm, let's consider my options. Haruno Sakura? No. Yamanaka Ino? That's another no. Err… that Temari girl from Sand? Nope, besides, she's too old for me anyway. Hinata? You've got to be kidding. Have I forgotten anyone? Anymore candidates?"

This irritated her. "What do you think?"

"Ah, yes." He smiled genuinely for the first time she could ever remember. "You." He said matter-of-factly.

A hand flew to her chest in surprise. "M-me?" She stuttered. She wasn't used to Neji… being like this.

"You are starting to sound like Hinata, stammering all over the place." Neji chuckled as he sipped his second drink.

"Neji…" Tenten's voice softened, putting her hand over his. He looked at her face, then looked at their entwined hands, then back to her face. Then he smiled.

Still smiling, he stood up and went over her side of the table. Sitting down, he put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, and before she could even react, pressed his lips against hers in a firm, resolute kiss. Her eyelids fluttered open and her arms 'subconsciously' snaked over his shoulders to caress the back of his head.

When they both FINALLY ran out of air, they broke apart, panting.

"Neji… why…?" She asked, still a bit baffled.

Surprisingly, he was still smiling. "You were gonna ask me to kiss you anyway, so I saved you the trouble."

"I…" No words came out of her mouth. He was right, as always. "How did you…?"

"Just a wild guess." He replied, smirking.

She grinned. "So can I have my tenth question now?"

"Be my guest."

"Will you kiss me again, if I asked you to?"

"Are you asking me to?"

"Well… yeah."

His already bottomless sliver orbs became unfathomable still. "Consider it done."

_THE NEXT DAY…_

"So is Neji a better kisser than me?" Kiba asked Tenten. Akamaru barked.

Tenten smirked. "Way better. You owe me twenty bucks, dog boy. Now pay up."

"Aw, man! I was gonna buy a new dog dish for Akamaru!" Said canine growled at his master.

"Too bad for you. Oh welll, I told you I was a better gambler than the Hokage-sama, but no…"

_**-**_

**_It just takes a little bit of this, a little bit of that  
It started with a kiss now we're up to bat  
A little bit of laughs, a little bit of pain  
I'm tellin' you my babe, its all in the game of love—_**

_**-Michelle Branch, The Game of Love**_

_**-**_

**Author's Note:** It's funner and easier to write fics like this with Naruto than with TT. Just saying. Anyway, I seriously wanna know what you all think. It was pretty weird, don't you think? Hehehe… please

REVIEW!


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